Professor Robert Cialdini defines the six principles of social influence:
- Reciprocation; feeling obligated to return favors performed for us
- Authority; looking to experts to show us the way
- Commitment/Consistency; wanting to act consistently with our commitments and values
- Scarcity; the less available the resource, the more we want it
- Liking; the more we like people, the more we want to say yes to them
- Social Proof/Consensus; looking to what others do to guide our behavior
Beware! Persuasion Ahead
The above principles have thousands of applications and it’s up to you to figure out how and when to apply them.
In his book, “Yes”, there are 50 strategies to get yes and here I intend to share 1 way – multiple strategies, on how to get yes:
- Offer something first. Instead of waiting to build a relationship, start the relationship by offering something; this could be an advice, a small gift, or help in any way possible. One example that clarifies this is in a hotel setting and saying we have donated to an environmental protection organization on behalf of you, so please reuse towels where possible, instead of simply asking guests to save the environment, or reuse towels and we will make a donation if you do.
- Make what you give significant, unexpected, and personalized. Significant doesn’t mean in monetary value. An example would be giving one mint to restaurant customers, then turning back and giving each person one more. This makes it significant, unexpected and personalized and raises the likelihood and amount of tips!
- Personal touch and effort pays off. Signing a letter, a request, an offer, or enclosing a hand-written note, far increases the influence.
to be continued…
